Lost Cause
by lumaluma
Summary: Arthur doesn't want to tell Alfred the truth about the nights he's come home late from work, but he knows he has to. After all, he made a promise. FrUk, UsUk.


_Another short, semi-drabble story I wrote. Warnings in this one for sexual content, occasional curse words, mentions of alcohol use, and infidelity. Enjoy!_

_Edit: the rabid UsUk fans have attacked, and I have heeded their warnings. Summary has been changed to clarify this story's romantic inclinations._

* * *

Arthur pulled his cell phone out of his pocket as he walked across the parking lot to his car. He dialed the first number at the top of his contacts list and waited as the phone rang. Finally, the person on the other line picked up. "Hello?"

"Hi, Al. I'm going to be home late again tonight, I'm afraid."

"Oh, okay. Thanks for letting me know, hon!"

"No problem. I'll call you when I'm on my way home, all right?"

"Sure thing. See ya!"

Arthur hung up, shoving his phone back in his pocket. Well, that was taken care of. It was almost sad, how Alfred never suspected anything. He shook his head as he opened his car door and sat down. Instead of driving home, he passed his normal exit in favour of driving just a little further, taking the exit a few miles after his. He pulled his phone out again and scrolled down his contacts list, finding the number he was looking for. This time, the phone was picked up on the first ring.

"Are you almost here?"

"Yes, I just got off the highway."

"Good. The door's unlocked."

"All right. See you in a minute." Arthur hung up and put his phone away. This neighbourhood was nicer than his, all the houses slightly larger and the gardens well-manicured. He pulled into the driveway of the house he had gotten quite accustomed to over the past months. His heart always pounded when he walked up the stairs of that house, and he felt like he had to look over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching him. He opened the door and called out, "I'm here."

"Took you long enough."

"Sorry, but traffic was dreadful."

"I know, I only got home half an hour ago myself. But you're here now, so let's not waste time, _cheri_."

"Of course not, Francis."

Arthur's heart pounded in his chest when he let Francis enfold him in his arms, when they kissed. Everything they did felt so risky, so exciting. And Francis was just everything Arthur wished he could've had. He was wild and adventurous in the bedroom, but careful never to leave marks that Alfred would see on Arthur. Of course, Arthur could mark Francis up as much as he wanted. He took advantage of that, and was in the middle of sucking a lovely bruise onto Francis' neck when his phone rang. He sighed and pulled it out of his pocket. Alfred, of course.

"Hey, are you gonna be home soon?"

"I'm in the middle of something right now, but I think I'll be able to leave the office in about half an hour or so. I'll be back as quickly as I can, all right?"

"Okay! Just checking. I'll let you get back to work now."

"Thank you, love."

When Arthur hung up, Francis raised an eyebrow. "You haven't told Alfred yet." It wasn't a question.

"No, not yet. But I will soon, I promise."

Francis opened his mouth to say something else, but before he could speak, Arthur covered his lips with his own. Francis gave in, kissing back, and led Arthur to the bedroom. It was always hot and heavy and passionate, always new and amazing and mind-blowingly good. This time was no exception, and afterwards, Arthur wished he had time to cuddle, time to bury his face into Francis' soft, golden hair and kiss him until they fell asleep. But there wasn't any time for that. He had to run home to his long-time boyfriend and leave the man he had been falling in love and lust with since he first saw him at the office.

Arthur had _hated _Francis' guts when they first met, mostly since he wanted him so badly. He didn't understand why he wanted Francis when he already had Alfred, and he decided it was all the Frenchman's fault. The day Francis confronted him during lunch and asked Arthur why he was always glaring at him even though he hadn't done anything, Arthur barely held himself back from shoving Francis against the wall and kissing him. Instead he asked Francis out to dinner, surprising both of them. Alfred had been out of town for a business trip, and Arthur forgot about him completely that day. After dinner, Arthur had invited Francis in and they had fucked up against the wall, then in bed, and one last time in the shower. Arthur felt like a damn teenager again, how badly he wanted it.

He didn't think twice until the next morning, when he realised what he had done. He told Francis the truth, that he was in a serious relationship, and the Frenchman had simply shrugged. They didn't have to do this ever again, he said quite simply, they could forget all about it. Arthur agreed with him, fully prepared to put that night in the drawer of memories he would never think about. That, however, didn't happen. Arthur still caught himself staring at Francis during meetings and watching him around the office. He promised himself nothing else would happen, though. He loved Alfred and wanted to stay with him. He wasn't going to give that up.

But one day, he had to stay late and finish up a project he was having trouble with. There were only a few people left in the office who could help him out on this, and he didn't really feel like asking anyone for help. Francis walked by his office just then, and Arthur hesitated before calling him into the room. They did talk work for a while, Francis helping Arthur get his spreadsheets done and formatted to the boss' liking. He was a fussy guy, after all, and if he didn't like the way something was presented, he'd ignore all the information in it. When Francis leaned over Arthur's shoulder, pointing at something on the computer screen, Arthur noticed he smelled of cologne and roses and cigarettes. He had given up smoking for Alfred, since the younger man always whined that Arthur was gonna get lung cancer, but Arthur still craved them from time to time.

Before he could stop himself, Arthur had turned around, grabbed Francis by the front of his shirt, and kissed him. He half-hoped Francis would push him off, so he wouldn't end up doing this, but Francis merely responded by straddling Arthur on his office chair and tangling his hands in Arthur's hair, kissing him back. They ended up making out and feeling each other up right there, Arthur able to taste the cigarettes on Francis' breath, his fingers itching to hold one. Instead, he settled for grabbing the Frenchman's cock through his pants, making Francis moan into his mouth. And oh, why did that turn him on so much more than Alfred ever did? Darling, loving, perfect Alfred, with his innocent naïveté and his video games and his too-sweet soda pop and his bright, happy eyes? No, Francis with his callused, gentle fingers and his stubble-coated chin and those twinkling, mischievous eyes, that was what Arthur craved.

Once wasn't enough.

That was the first night Arthur called Alfred and lied to him, saying he would be home a little late because of work. He felt guilty about it, then. But as soon as Francis was holding him, it was more than worth it. When Francis was rocking into him gently, rolling his hips sensually and making Arthur throw his head back on the pillows of the Frenchman's bed, Alfred didn't even enter his thoughts once. It was Francis, Francis, _oh god Francis_. Those were the words that spilled from his lips, that was the mantra in his head the whole time until he was finally balling his hands into fists, scrunching up the bedsheets, arching his back and coming, coming, coming. He had never felt like that before in his life. And how Arthur wished he could've felt Francis' come inside of him, how he wished Francis was filling him instead of a condom, but he knew it couldn't happen, because Alfred didn't know.

Arthur promised Francis that he'd tell Alfred, that he'd stop lying, but the moment never seemed right. He could never manage to say it. He knew it was selfish, to keep both Alfred and Francis, and that it needed to change, but he also didn't want to crush Alfred's heart. He knew what would happen when he told Alfred, and he wasn't looking forward to it.

When Arthur finally got home that night, Alfred had gone ahead and made the two of them a nice dinner and all of that, when all Arthur really wanted was a cigarette and a nice glass of scotch so he could relax. But no, this was Alfred's way of showing that he cared, and it was sweet and it broke Arthur's heart to know he had to give this up. He had to tell Alfred.

Alfred, who ran down the stairs happily to hug him and kiss him. "Hey, baby! How was your day?"

"It was all right." Arthur barely kissed back. Ever since he started seeing Francis, he found himself disappointed that Alfred doesn't taste like cigarettes and wine. He still didn't know how to tell Alfred. He had to, he knew that much. Their relationship was a lost cause now. Arthur would choose Francis in a heartbeat, and he knew damn well that this wonderful thing he had with Alfred couldn't go on any longer, but he still hesitated to break Al's heart.

Over dinner, he decided to come out and say it as bluntly as he could. "I need to tell you something, Alfred. And you aren't going to like it."

Alfred looked up from his food. "What is it?"

"I've been cheating on you."

"What?" Alfred stared at him, obviously shocked. He dropped his fork and it clattered loudly against the plate.

"It was all me. I initiated my relationship with this man, and he didn't know I was already in a relationship at first. When I told him, he suggested we not continue our… liaison. But I couldn't. It was… I was too…"

Alfred shook his head and got up from the table, leaving the room.

"It's not your fault," Arthur called after him. "It's my fault." Arthur heard the bedroom door slam shut and, a moment later, the lock clicked. Arthur pushed his plate away and stood up, going outside. His hands were shaking, and he was desperate for a cigarette or something to calm his nerves. He remembered suddenly that Francis had given him a cigarette after he promised he would tell Alfred about them. He pulled it out of his pocket along with his lighter and lit the cigarette with a practiced hand. Just lifting it to his lips helped calm him down, before he even got any nicotine in his system. Arthur sat down on the front steps with a sigh.

Alfred came outside after a while and sat next to Arthur. "What are we going to do?"

"I love you, but I can't give up what I have with Francis."

Alfred's eyes hardened. "Fine. That's fine. But you sure as hell better not be thinking we're gonna be together anymore."

"I know." Arthur exhaled, smoke curling out of his nostrils. It used to make him laugh when he did that, but he didn't laugh this time. "It's no less than I deserve."

Alfred sighed, biting his thumbnail. "Why did you do it in the first place?"

Arthur shook his head. "I don't know. I felt so drawn to him from the very start. It wasn't really something I could help. I tried to stop it, believe me, I wanted to stay true to you, but… I couldn't."

Alfred frowned, his face locking into a scowl. Arthur had seen that face only a few times before. That was the face Alfred made when he was trying not to cry. "Please leave. I don't care where you go, just go. I don't want to see you again."

Arthur nodded. He was ashamed about this whole thing and wanted to apologise over and over to Alfred, but he knew he really should leave. He went inside to get his car keys and a change of clothes. He'd come back over the next few days to get the rest of his things. Before he left, he stopped to say goodbye to Alfred. They shook hands briefly before Alfred threw his arms around Arthur and squeezed him. "I should seriously hate you right now."

"And you have every right to."

"But I don't. I mean, not yet."

"You will soon enough." Arthur hugged Alfred back quickly before they let go of each other. Arthur nodded before he walked down the front steps. He didn't look back. If he did, he might be tempted to tell Alfred that he was kidding, that he'd rather have him than Francis. But then he'd continue seeing Francis behind Alfred's back, and that would only make everything worse. Better to break this off cleanly and quickly.

Arthur drove to Francis' house and walked up the front steps. He breathed in deeply, collecting his thoughts and calming himself down before opening the front door. Francis only locked the door right before he went to bed, and he knew there was no way he would be asleep so early. Arthur kicked off his shoes and took a few steps into the living room, where he saw Francis stretched out on the couch, reading a book. Arthur remembered they had made love there several times. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out apart from a weak mumble. "Ah…"

Francis looked up and set his book aside. "Did you tell Alfred?"

Arthur nodded. "Yes."

"Good. Now, come here." Francis opened his arms and Arthur pretty much fell on him. They kissed, Francis brushing the hair out of Arthur's eyes, and he knew he should've been sad, but he wasn't. He was far too happy. He had Francis in his arms and got to kiss him and hold him close. He finally, _finally_ felt Francis' teeth on his throat, marking him and claiming him like he never could before. It was glorious. That alone was worth leaving Alfred. Francis pulled back from Arthur's neck after giving him one last nip and leaned in to kiss Arthur sweetly, gently, catching him entirely off guard. "Thank you for being honest with Alfred." Francis smiled, leaning his forehead against Arthur's.

"Of course I told him the truth. I love you."

Francis kissed Arthur on both cheeks. "And I love you."

They held each other close. Not out of some carnal lust, but out of a simple desire to be close. Arthur could spend an eternity in Francis' arms, simply laying flush against him, and he would be content. Arthur closed his eyes as he leaned into Francis, a small smile on his lips. He knew he would miss Alfred, that was without a doubt. But not nearly as much as he'd miss Francis if he tried to give him up.

* * *

_Thank you for reading! Any comments/feedback are greatly appreciated._


End file.
